With one of the most successful youth teams in kiteboarding, Eleveight is earning quite the reputation as the birthplace of World Champions! You may not have heard of these riders yet, but you soon will. In this article, Robert Bratz gives us the background on the Eleveight youth program, and we meet kiteboarding's stars of tomorrow!

Eleveight has a long history in water sports, from the very grassroots in kiteboarding, and a passion for investing in young talent at different levels. Nurturing talent allows for the opportunity to help shape athletes from an early age. Through long-term development, we can build a strong foundation for the future and integrate our youth team into our family-driven company structure.

We love to work with youthful energy, enthusiasm, and the passion that young riders bring to the sport. They're the ones that push the boundaries in performance and inspire us all. Youth sponsoring also has an economic advantage as younger role models influence a new rider generation that will hopefully become potential customers. Kiteboarding, in general, is an older person's sport, but by investing in young talent, we invest in the next generation of kiteboarders with the hope that more young people will follow.

Coming Up The Ranks

Take the case of Arthur Guillebert, our former World Champion who rose through the ranks after we spotted him in 2018. Back then, Phil Martin, one of the founders of Eleveight, was looking after the French team, and he spotted the potential in Arthur when he won the Youth World Championship. At the time, we were in the early stages of launching Eleveight, and we had quite a low budget for sponsoring riders. But, Arthur was the perfect fit for us; he was young and energetic, performed at a very high level, and had a good understanding of kite products and the development process. So we signed him up quickly, and ever since, Arthur has played a crucial role in our Eleveight family.

I still remember one of the first videos we posted of him: a well-performed Blind Judge 9 (triple handle pass rotation). That video went through the roof, proving that we had him as a top freestyle asset right from the start. He won several events in different disciplines and did very well in his first year on the GKA World Tour. In 2021, he won the GKA Freestyle World Championship, a milestone for all of us and the brand.

The great thing about Arthur is that he is very versatile in his riding. He has all the freestyle tricks in his toolbox but he can also unleash the beast when it's 30+ knots and showtime for the big air guys. This set of skills is great for events and also very helpful for our video and picture productions. As a rider, he is very humble and reliable and has managed his athletic career very well. Arthur fits our organisation structure, and over the years, he's developed as one of our main faces at Eleveight.

Next-Generation Champions

The pro rider scene is a small circle. Everyone knows each other quite well, and they also know the next-generation riders. Arthur grew up in New Caledonia and has known our current Youth World Champion, Antoine Ollivier, since his first steps in kiteboarding. He pointed out to us early on that this guy had some serious skills, and Antoine's first competition results showed us clearly that he has a competitive nature. 

It's always been important to Eleveight that the rider fits our values and structure. We act as a small family with a lot of trust in each other. Phil Mohr, our German Area Manager, also knew our other team rider, Jan Burgdörfer, quite well. With these personal connections, finding a good sponsor relationship is easy. Jan is also very active in some youth development programs, and he introduced us to our other World Champion, Kaya Lehmann, last year!

Supporting Our Young Guns

The support we offer is on different levels. On the one hand, we try to help with gear as much as possible, so the guys can ride the latest Eleveight products that fit perfectly to their styles. On the other hand, we have an incentive structure for their performance, not only in competition but also in their professional and social media approaches and their related input and content production.

With our current youth team, we always strive to form the next World Champion. Our team is very motivated, and their training is very professional. The latest results show that they are on the right track to becoming the stars of tomorrow. We are very proud to work with this talented group of riders, and their spirit also drives our product development to offer them the best-performance products on the market.

Promising Stars

The recent GKA Youth World Championships in Tarifa saw some amazing achievements from the Eleveight team, decorating the podiums and crowning two World Champions amongst the four hopefuls. We've asked these four up-and-coming athletes to introduce themselves. Watch this space; this won't be the last time you hear their names!

Introducing: Antoine Ollivier

My name is Antoine Ollivier. I'm 16 and live in New Caledonia, where we have some of the best kite spots in the world, with perfect wind and beautiful scenery. One day, I was walking on the beach with my parents and saw kitesurfers on the water. I immediately wanted to give it a try, so I took lessons at a kite school and loved it from the beginning. Now, I've been kitesurfing for three and a half years. 

My favourite thing about kitesurfing is feeling free to fly high in the sky at beautiful spots and having fun, even when training hard. I like to share these moments with my family and friends; it's a real pleasure for me to go training every day.

Recently, I was crowned World Champion. It was a magical feeling, an achievement, and a dream come true after a year of hard training. I've always dreamed of becoming the World Champion, and now I've done it at just 16! My greatest dream would be to become the World Champion in the adult division. I still need to gain much experience to progress and live up to this goal.

Before competing, I try to focus my mind to manage my stress and avoid losing my nerve. I like the positive stress and adrenaline that allows me to excel during my heat! I'm someone who stays calm and cool in life... but I think we all prefer to get through the competition, even if once it's over, we're happy and want to go back!

I'm off to Europe again in mid-September to compete in the French Championships. Then I'll go to Morocco to train with my coach. Later, I'm off to Brazil to participate in the final stage of the GKA World Cup for adults. I'm really looking forward to it!

Introducing: Rafa Montero

My name is Rafa Montero. I am a 16-year-old rider from Malaga, in southern Spain. I started kitesurfing when I was 11 because my father had a kite school. I have always wanted to kite since I saw my father practice it for the first time. I love those sessions with constant wind between 15 and 25 knots and sending it with friends! My goal is to be Freestyle World Champion. I know it's a difficult task, but I'll give everything to achieve it!

In the last GKA Youth World Cup event, I felt very strong because I saw all my progression reflected in this competition. Usually, I start the competitions quite stressed, but after a few heats, I relax, enjoying the rest of the rounds. Unfortunately, I made a little technical mistake that cost me the final, but still left me in the position of Vice World Champion next to Antoine. I always go big, giving everything I can. I will be stronger than ever next year and will not make the same mistakes again.

I am completely focused on studying and training in and out of the water. My next move is to compete in the next GKA event in Dunkirk, France and try to win the next Spanish Cup!

Introducing: Kaya Lehmann

My name is Kaya Lehmann. Although my parents are German, I have spent most of my life in Copenhagen, Denmark. I used to sail for about 7 years before I started kiteboarding, and I also did a little bit of windsurfing during that time. When I was about 13 years old, I decided to try kitesurfing, and ever since, I've been hooked on this amazing sport. I now spend most of my time kiteboarding.

My favourite thing about kiteboarding is the ability to kite multiple disciplines while doing the same sport. For example, when the wind is really strong, I can do big air; when the wind is lighter, I do freestyle; and when there are waves, I ride strapless. Developing my style and learning from each discipline is also very exciting. I like the variety of countries I travel to and the fact that the sport is in nature… and I'm very grateful for all the people I am meeting, thanks to kiteboarding!

Besides kiting, managing competition stress is one of the main things I've been working on for the past year. I do get stressed before the competitions. However, this year I was able to maintain my focus and handle the pressure, which also helped me to enjoy the event even more and lead to great results.

I am super happy to be the current Youth Freestyle World Champion and Strapless Vice World Champion. I've been training incredibly hard to achieve these goals and could not be happier to have made it! 

After finishing school in 2024, I want to kitesurf professionally and compete in the GKA in freestyle, big air, and/or strapless. I have several upcoming competitions in both Germany and Denmark. I am currently training very hard to learn new tricks and to achieve my goal of getting podium positions!

Introducing: Jeremiasz Kuczma

Hi, my name is Jeremiasz. I'm 14 years old and live in the southeast UK, by Greatstone on Sea. I got into kiteboarding after seeing my parents doing it first, and I thought, why not give it a try? That was 6 years ago, and I have been hooked since the second I got up on the board. I've never stopped since!

My favourite thing about my kiteboarding career is working with my sponsors on fascinating projects and going around the world, attending competitions, visiting new places, and promoting them on the way - travel is the best education. 

I was really happy to attend the competition in Tarifa for the Youth GKA because I got a lot of experience from it and saw what I need to work on in the future. I like having pressure on me in competition because it gives me that adrenaline kick when I'm in a heat, and I feel I'm doing 100 times better. Meeting all the kiteboarding legends inspired me to push and to push hard! Seeing all the kids my age pulling the best tricks elevated my motivation. It was great to take part in many ways, and I will be back. 

My personal goal is to give everything and progress 100% this year and to go to competitions in Dunkirk, France, and the BKSA Freestyle Nationals in Hayling Island, UK. I also hope to revisit France later this year for the Elite Mondiale Junior competition. I want to showcase my skills, get inspired and gain more experience from these events. For the rest of the year, I plan to push more, break my limits and progress further, and maybe explore some new countries!

By Robert Bratz

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